Propeller



T. L. HELSABECK. PHOPELLER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 192|.

1,375,907 Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

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T. L. HELSABECK.

PROPELLER.

APPLICATION man JAN. 2B, 192:.

1,375,907. Patented Afr. 26,1921.

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T. L. HELSABEUK.

PROPELLEB.

APPLICATION FILED IMI. 28, I92I-.

1 ,375,907. Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

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UNITED STATES THEODORE L. HELSABECK, OF BEANDFORD, FLORDA ritornimnla.

Application filed January 2S, 1921.

fl 10 @ZZ whom it 'may @0n-ocra Be it lrnown that I, Tiinooonn L. Hansaiancir, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brandford7 in the county of Suivance and State of Florida, have invented a. new and useful Propeller, of which the following;- is a specification.

This invention relates to propcllers for boats of diii'erent types, one of its objects being` to provide a propeller formed of a desired number of units mounted for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the. path of movement of the boat and each unit including a series of paddles mounted for rotation about individual aires extending radially from the axis of rotation of the units.

A further object is to provide paddles of novel construction adapted, duringthe rotation of the units, to successively move to feathering and active or propelling positions, means being` employed for automatically holding' the paddles while in active positions and for automatically uncoupling' the paddles so as to permit them to swing out of active and into feathering positions as they pass upwardly and forwardly from the water prior to being directed back into the water at the beginning of the next propelling stroke.

Another object is to provide a propeller which can be readily installed in lieu of propellers of the usual types and which is not only simple and durable in construction but is also of high eiiiciency.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the conibination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being; understood that within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

ln the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

ln said drawings- Figure l is a plan view of the stern portion of a boat and showing a propeller connected thereto and formed of two units such as constitute the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the units, a portion of the hub beingishown broken away.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the unit.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2li, 1921. Serial No. 440,704.

Fig. 4l is a central transverse section through one of the units.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the latches of the unit.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the other latch thereof.

Fig. 7 is al transverse section through a portion of the supporting beam of the propeller and showing the cooperating portions of the beam and paddle for holding the paddle .in feathering' position.

Fig. 8 is a face view of one of the latch carrying disks.

F ig. 9 is a view showing in diagram the movement of a paddle from featliering to propelling position. i

Fig. l0 is a view similar to F ig. 9 and showing the relative positions ofthe parts during the movement of the paddle Afrom active to feathering position.

Fig. ll is a view similar to Fig. 9 and showing' the paddle in transverse section to indicate the positions of the doors or blades of the paddle.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. lO, showing the paddle in transverse section to illus-y trate the positions of the doors or blades.

Fig. i3 is a view partly in side elevation and kpartly in section showing a modified arrangement of the paddle units.

Referring to the iigures by characters of reference A designates the stern portion of a boat from which extend parallel rearwardly projecting beams 2 the lower faces or edges of which are cut away to provide angular recesses The rear ends of the beams are rounded as at fl so as to be concentric with a. transverse shaft 5 journaled in bearings G at the inner or upper ends of the recesses 3. rl`his shaft 5 is provided with a ,gear 7 meshing with a `gear 8 on a shaft 9 extending' from the hull of the boat so that when the engine on the boat is operated motion will be transmitted to the transverse shaft 5.

Secured to the shaft 5 'are spaced propeiling4 units each of which cooperate with one of the beams 2. las both units are of the same construction and operate in the saine manner it will be necessary to describe only one of them in detail.

he propelling unit includes a hub l() secured to the end of shaft 5 and bearing laterally against the outer side of the beam 2, and a disk il secured to the shaft 5 and bearing snugly against the inner surface of the heani 2. lllxtending` into the .huh 10 at the inner side thereof are recesses 12 the epposed front and hach walls of which converge inwardly to enlargements 13 at the inner ends of the recesses. The recesses and their enlargements are closed at their inner sides by a wear plate or dislr 1d which is secured to the huh and is interposed hetwecn said huh and the heani 2.

A. hearing 15 is arranged in each of tl e enlargements 13 and is supported hy a laterally extending pivot pin 16 mounted to rotate within a recess 17 extending' laterally within the huh. Swiyeied within each .of the hearings 15 is stein 18 mounted to rotate and to slide within the adjacent recess 12 and to the outer end of each stein 18 is secured a paddle fraine 19 preferably reetanpgular as shown and provided, opposite sides of its longitudinal center with. openings 20. Extending in opposite directions from each frame 19 at opposite sides of 'the axis of its stein 1S are arnis 21 having laterally extending fingers 22, on which are journaled anti-friction rollers The frames 19 have their inner ends spaced from the shaft 5 a distance slightly greater than the distance between said shaft and the periphery of the huh 1G so that said frames are thus free to swing; across the huh as shown, for example, in Figs. and el.. Formed in the periphery of the huh 10 adjacent each of the frames 19 is a recess 24e and mounted in this recess is a catch in the forin of a spring having` tapered heads 26 extending outwardly frein its ends and which heads provide shoulders 2T at their innermost ends. The spring 25 is secured at its center to the center portion of the recess and yieldinpgly supports the heads 26 so that they normally project outwardly from the periphery of the huh 10.

Recesses 28 are .forni/ed in that face of the disk 11nearest the heain 2. the ends of this recess being deeper than the middle portion thereof. Secured on the middle portion of the bottoni ofv each recess the central part of a leaf spring` 29 from the onus of which entend oppositely disposed heads 59 the inner ends of which provide shoulders 31. These shoulders do not entend throughout the width of the heads hut extending nfreno those ends of the heads nearest the center of the disk 11 are inclined wehs converging toward each other shown particularly in Fig. G. The heads 30 normally j reject inwardly away frein the disk 11 and are adapted, during the rotation of the dish, to travel within an arcuate groove formed in the adjacent side of the heuin 2 and along the path of the heads.

Another arcuate groove Se; is fornied in the beam 2 opposite the groove 33 and eX- tends from one wall to the other of the recess 3. groove has ,innermost portion widened as indicated at and that end of the groove opening through the front wall of the recess 9 or, other w nds7 the wall nearest the hull of the lioat is curved laterally away from the huh 10 as shown at lo in 9. The other end of the groove 34 is preferably enl el as shown at 37 in l* 10, the outer wall of the groove being rounded at this point of enlargement.

llf'founted on each of the frames 19 are ehunwrs or blades m arranged in pairs at dk) opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the stein 11% the shutters of one pair beingl locate l one side of the freine so to close one set of openings 2G while the shutters of the other pair are located at the other side of the ifi/'aine to close the other set of openings 20.

lt is to he understood that the disl; 11 and the huh 10 rotate together and that the catches are located directly opposite the catches 29. '.he shaft 5 rotates in the direction indicated hy the arrows in Figs. 1 and `l and as each paddle freine 19 travels up* wardly and forwardly it lies parallel with the a` 'oining' face of ie heain 2 and with one of its arins 21 traveling in the arcuate groove 34. As the paddle fraine arrives at the front wall of tl recess 3 and shown hy diagram in F 9 the roller carrying finger 22 of the erin 21 will rnove into the laterally curi/'ed en d 36 of the groove 3e and inipart a slight rotation to the frame 19 and its stern .18. This rotation willv he enough to shift the paddle frame ont of feat-heling posi son it enters the water adjacent the recess 3 an l the arin 21 and finger 22 nieve out of the groove 3d the resistance offered hy the water to the movement of the paddle frame 19 will result in said frame swinging frein the position indicated at (o in Fig. 9 to the position indicated at 7) in said ligure. rlhus the shutters or blades at the inner side of the fraine 19 will swing' to closed position shown in Fig. 11 while the other shutters on the frame will move to open position. '.lhe opposed sides of the shutter iframe will engage the catches and 29 adjacent the feto, the inner side of the frame wringing' i nto position between the heads 80 so as to e.: er je one of the shoulders B1 while the other side of the frame 19 swings over and depresses one of the heads 26 so as to allow the freine to assume a position hetween 'd heads incre-s n arwardly in the hody of water the heat will loe propelled forwardly and as the freine 19 reaches the back wall of the recess EE the inclined web 32 of the head 30 engagingthe frame 19 will corne against a deflectingrtongue 39 entendiner from the beam 2 and into the recess 3 close to the inner side of the dislr 11. Thus the head 30 engaging the fraaie 19 will loe pushed laterally away from said paddle frame and at the saine Thus as the frame 19 time the linger 22 onone side of the frame 19 Will be moved into the enlarged end 37 of the groove 34 by the contact of the frame 19 with the rounded wall of the recess 3, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l0, this initial position of the paddle frame being designated at c. r-is the arm 2l and its finger 22 continue to travel into the groove 34 the frame l5) will be swung completely around to feathi-ningl position as indicated at CZ in l0, this position continuing as the frame moves baclr around the shaft 5 to the position Z indicated in Fig. 9. rlhus it Will be seen that during` the rotation of the shaft eaeh of the paddle frames will be maintained in feathering position as it passes in one direction and Will be brought to transverse or propelling position as it crosses the recess 3. rlhe opposed faces of each paddle frame are presented successively to active positions so that While one pair of shutters or blades are brought to position to close d uring the propelling' action during` one trip across the recess 3, the other set of shutters or blades are closed during the neXt trip across said recess. in this Way Wear is evenly distributed upon all of the shutters or blades and instead of being compelled to impart a back and forth rocking movement to the paddle as has heretofore been the practice, each paddle is given an intermittent rotation in one direction, thus insuring accuracy of operation and materially reducing' Wear upon the parts.

When'it is desired to reverse the motion of the boat it is merely necessary to reverse the rotation of the shaft 5 whereupon the parts will operate as hereinbefore described but in the reverse manner.

Obviously instead of arranging the shaft 5 horizontally as heretofore described the structure can be arranged as shown in Fig. 123. In this figure there are illustrated vertically alined shafts 40 and 41 journaled at their adjacent ends in av bearing 42 carriedV by a frame 43. The upper shaft 40 has a e'ear 44 and the lower shaft 4l has a gear 45. r.ilhe tivo nears are driven in opposite directions respectively bv a Lgear 46 secured to the engine shaft 4T. Each of the shafts 40 and 4l is journaled Within a. rearwardly extending beam 48, these beams being superposed and being similar to the beams 2 although a rrann'ed with their faces. horizontal and with their recesses in opposite sides respectively. lhe various other parts of the propeller units are the same as have heretofore been described, it being understood that the shafts 40 an d 4l correspond with the shaft 5. llllhereas in the preferred form of the device the propelling' units all rotate in the same direction, in this modied form the units rotate in opposite directions.

W hat is claimed is l. A. propeller including spaced revoluble members, a series of paddles carried by one of the members and mounted for rotation about radial axes, means upon the members for engagement with the paddles to hold them in propelling` positions, and means for successively releasing the paddles, shifting` them to feathering positions, and maintaining` them in feathering positions duringl part of the rotation of the propeller.

2. A propelling` unit for boats, including a stationary member having a recess eX- ,tending thereinto, members at opposite sides of the stationary member and mounted to rotate in unison, paddles carried by one of the members and mounted for rotation about radial axes, said stationary member constituting means for holding the paddles in featheringl positions While traveling' away from the recess, cooperating means upon the stationary member and the paddles for successively shifting said paddles about their radial axes to propelling positions While crossing'the recess and for returning the paddles to feathcring positions after passing' the recess, and means for automatically engaging the paddles to hold them in propelling positions While passing the recess.

3. A propelling unit for boats including a stationary member having' a recess, connected rotatable members at opposite sides of the stationary member and extending` across the recess at opposite sides thereof, paddle frames carried by one of the members and mounted for rotation about radial axes, shutters connected to opposite sides respectively of each frame, oppositely extending arms upon each paddle frame, there being an arcuate groove Within the stationary member for the reception of the arms to hold the paddle frames in feathering positions While moving away from the recess, and means upon the rotatable members for automatically engaging' the paddle frames to hold the same in propelling` position While moving across the recess.

4. A propelling unit for boats including' a stationary member having a recess and an arcuate guide groove, connected members mounted for rotation at opposite sides respectively of the stationary member, paddles carried by one of the rotatable members androtatable about radial axes, means carried by the paddles for engaging the guide ,f-roove to hold the paddles in feather-ing positions during` a portion of the rotation of the members, and for imparting,` a rotation to the paddles about their radial axes While moving to position adjacent the recess, and means upon the rotatable members for engagement with the paddles as they are move-d successively across the recess, to maintain the paddles in propelling positions.

5. A propellino` unit for boats including` a stationary member having an arcuate guide groove and a recess, connected rotatable members at opposite sides ot the stationary member and extending across the recess, paddle frames carried by one ot' the rotatable members and mounted to rotate about radial axes extending through the center thereof, each paddle including shutters connected to opposite sides ot the frame at op posite sides of its axis of rotation respectively, means carried by each trame for engagement With the groove in the stationary member to maintain the paddles in 'feathering positions during a portion ot the rotation of the unit, catches mounted on the rotatable members for engagement with the paddle trames to hold them in propelling positions While moving past the recess, and means for automatically untastening the paddles from the catches and tor shitting the paddles to eathering positions upon leaving the recess.

6. A propelling unit for boats including a radial series of paddles mounted for rotation about a common axis and about individual radial axes, and means for intermit tently rotating the paddles about their individual axes during their rotation about the common axis to bring them successively to propelling and to eathering positions.

7. A propelling unit for boats including a radial series of paddles mounted for rotation about a common axis and about individual axes, means for intermittently rotat ing the paddles about their individual axes during their rotation about the common axis to bring them successively to propelling and to teathering positions, and catches for automatically engaging opposite sides of each paddle to hold the same in propelling position.

S. A propelling unit for boats including a radial series of paddles mounted for rota tion about a common axis and about individual axes, means for intermittently rotating the paddles about their individual axes during their rotation about the common axis to bring them successively to propelling and to eathering positions, catches "for automatically engaging opposite sides of each paddle to hold the same in propelling position, means for automatically untastening the paddles successively from the atches, and means for holding the paddles in tea-thering positions while released from the catches.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, l have hereto atlixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE L. HELSABECK.

Vlitnesses HERBERT D. Lawson, lvr E. SiMrsoN. 

